Hail Storm Summer Saison

I've been drinking more and more Saisons lately and telling myself that I really needed to brew one of my own for quite some time.

Well, I brewed a "winter" (black) saison back in February, but never really a "traditional" Saison style beer. By the summer of 2014, I knew I finally had to get one done.

Just as with the Arctic Vortex, I decided to stay away from spices and fruit, allowing the spicy saaz hops and the wonderful flavors and aromas from the French saison yeast shine through unadulterated. I also am trying to keep the alcohol on the low side of the style.

About the name (Hail Storm): Summers in Colorado are wonderful, but way too often we get way too many hail storms. Just as I used a weather phenomenon (Arctic Vortex) for my winter Saison, I decided to use the Hail Storm for my summer Saison. Not sure what I'll use for Autumn.

Recipe NotesMake a small
starter of the yeast the day before brew day to make sure it is active going
into fermentation.6g gypsum, 3g chalk to get the water Calcium up above 100
ppm. From Denver water, this puts my water
at:Ca=108,Mg=8,Na=21,SO4=149,Cl=23,HCO3=157Keep the mash on the low
side. Err on the side of lower temp. Let the mash go at least 1.5 hours. Ok
longer.Yeast url:
http://www.wyeastlab.com/hb_yeaststrain_detail.cfm?ID=199Optimum Temp range
for yeast: 65 - 77Pitch a little below 65 degrees. Try to keep it there for
the first 12 hours or so, but let rise as it wants after that.Carbonate
high.

06/20/2017 esheppyAbout time to get this brewed for 201707/07/2017 esheppyBought ingredients today.07/09/2017 Brew day esheppyBrewed today. Really hot day. 1.048. Can't wait to get this in a keg. 07/11/2017 esheppyActively fermenting by the time I looked at it yesterday. Put in a blow-off tube.07/22/2017 esheppyKegged it up. Disappointing fg at 1.008. Tastes delicious, though. That's the important thing. 07/23/2017 esheppyHad a pint just for fun. Tastes great even without much carbonation 😋07/29/2017 esheppyYum. 😋